Manifesting Justice: Wrongly Convicted Women Reclaim Their Rights

Valena Beety

Jul 2022 · Highbridge Audio · Narrated by Raechel Wong

About this audiobook

When Valena Beety first became a federal prosecutor, her goal was to protect victims, especially women, from cycles of violence. What she discovered was that not only did prosecutions often fail to help victims, they frequently relied on false information, forensic fraud, and police and prosecutor misconduct. Seeking change, Beety began working in the Innocence Movement, helping to free factually innocent people through DNA testing and criminal justice reform. Manifesting Justice focuses on the shocking story of Beety's client Leigh Stubbs-a young, queer woman in Mississippi, convicted of a horrific crime she did not commit because of her sexual orientation. Beety weaves Stubbs's harrowing narrative through the broader story of a broken criminal justice system. Drawing on interviews with both innocence advocates and wrongfully convicted women, along with Beety's own experiences as an expert litigator and a queer woman, Manifesting Justice provides a unique outsider/insider perspective. Beety expands our notion of justice to include not just people who are factually innocent, but those who are over-charged, pressured into bad plea deals, and over-sentenced. The result is a riveting and timely book that will transform our very ideas of crime and punishment, what innocence is, and who should be free.

About the author

Valena Beety is a professor of law at Arizona State University Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law and the deputy director of the Academy for Justice, a criminal justice center at the law school that connects research with policy reform. Visit her online at valenabeety.com.

A Los Angeles native, Raechel Wong is a film/TV actress, voice talent, and audiobook narrator. She's known for her resilient, witty, and honest performances on screen and behind the mic. In addition to narrating audiobooks, Raechel can be heard in audio dramas, podcasts, animation, games, commercials, and more.